Georgia defensive coordinator interviewing again with Tennessee
— -- Georgia defensive coordinator Mel Tucker, whose unit helped lead the No. 3 Bulldogs to their first SEC championship since 2005 and their first appearance in the College Football Playoff, is scheduled to interview with Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer for a second time in New York on Tuesday, sources told ESPN.
Tucker, 45, is in his second season on Georgia coach Kirby Smart's staff, after previously working with him at Alabama in 2015, when they helped the Crimson Tide win a national championship. Tucker was also a former defensive coordinator in the NFL with the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns, and he served as the Jaguars' interim coach for the final five games of the 2011 season.
This season, the Bulldogs rank in the top five among FBS teams in passing defense (158.3 yards per game), scoring defense (13.2 points) and total defense (270.9 yards).
Fulmer, who replaced John Currie as Tennessee's athletic director last week, is expected to interview other candidates in New York as well, after making initial contact with candidates in Dallas earlier this week.
SMU head coach Chad Morris and three other defensive coordinators -- Alabama's Jeremy Pruitt, Clemson's Brent Venables and Auburn's Kevin Steele -- also are considered potential replacements for Butch Jones, who was fired after compiling a 34-27 record in six seasons with the Volunteers.
Today at a news conference for the College Football Hall of Fame, former Vols star Peyton Manning addressed the coaching search: "Obviously it's been a difficult time, but I know what Tennessee is capable of being: It's what it was when I was in school there. I've been a devout supporter and always will be and look forward to hopefully getting it back to where it was back when I was in school. Great place."
Tucker, a semifinalist for the Broyles Award as college football's top assistant coach, is a native of Cleveland and played defensive back at Wisconsin from 1990 to 1994.
Georgia will play No. 2 Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual on New Year's Day.
ESPN's Chris Low and Adam Rittenberg contributed to this report.
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